VENEZUELA: Crisis Facts and Frequently Asked Questions

Source: World Vision, February 2019

Venezuela is in crisis. The economy has collapsed and an uprising of political opposition to President Nicolas Maduro has put the country’s leadership in question. More than 3 million Venezuelans—5,500 per day in 2018—have left the country seeking food, work, and a better life.

Latin America’s largest migration in recent years is driven by hyperinflation, violence, and food and medicine shortages stemming from recent years of political turmoil. Once-eradicated diseases like cholera and malaria have returned, and children increasingly are dying of causes related to hunger and malnutrition.

An estimated more than 1.5 million people have settled in Colombia; nearly 700,000 in Peru; nearly 280,000 in Ecuador; and Brazil, Chile, and Argentina are each hosting 100,000 Venezuelans or more. About 290,000 Venezuelans have settled in the United States and more than 200,000 in Spain, according to the UN International Organization on Migration.

While the influx from Venezuela has caused tensions in host countries, it also has brought out their hospitable spirit. Still, needs among families in transition are great. And forecasts for 2019 show the number of displaced people may increase to more than 5 million. World Vision staff in neighboring countries are helping.

» Read full story. It’s quite informative. We’re also praying for the people of Haiti, a country recently in an uproar. See Haiti Braces for More Violence (CBC News video).

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